Key Issues and Advocacy

Please make plans to join AAMS on Capitol Hill as we take to the halls of Congress to advocate for the“Ensuring Access to Air Ambulance Services Act” (H.R. 3378 and S. 2121), companion bills that seek to address the shortfall in Medicare reimbursements for air medical services. By bringing in both air medical aircraft and personnel, AAMS hopes to increase awareness and visibility of these important services which are often seen in only the most dire of emergency circumstances. AAMS believes that the best way to increase public awareness of the value of these services and the highly advanced medical and aviation technology employed by air medical helicopters in their emergency medical mission, is to provide the public and our elected legislators with a firsthand experience of those aircraft provided by the highly trained flight crew members themselves. Contact Chris Eastlee at ceastlee@aams.org if you plan to attend.

It’s easy!

Unable to attend? Schedule conflict? Not a problem, you can still lend your voice to the effort.

This week, the House plans to consider the “TAILOR Act of 2017” (H.R. 1116); the “Financial Examination Fairness and Reform Act” (H.R. 4545); the “Stress Test Improvement Act of 2017” (H.R. 4293); and the “Financial Stability Oversight Council Improvement Act of 2017” (H.R. 4061). The Senate is continuing to debate the “Economic Growth, Regulatory Relief, and Consumer Protection Act” (S. 2155), which would reform provisions of the Dodd-Frank Act.

Member Reminder

AAMS fully supports the “Ensuring Access to Air Ambulance Services Act” (H.R. 3378 and S. 2121) to address the shortfall in Medicare reimbursements for air medical services. AAMS encourages members to contact their Senators and Members of Congress to ask them to cosponsor the legislation.

The bills would reform the Medicare fee schedule for air ambulance services, starting with a cost reporting and analysis program conducted by the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS), followed by: rebasing of air medical reimbursements in 2021; and implementation of a Value-Based Purchasing (VBP) Program beginning in 2024. The bill would enhance transparency by establishing cost and quality reporting requirements, as well as solve for a growing gap between Medicare payments and costs.